Stranger Things - Imagines

Eddie Munson X Musician!Reader - Just A Girl

A/N - This chapter is inspired by the song Just A Girl by No Doubt, which is one of those songs that I listened to as a kid that really just screams ✨This Is Why You Were A Feminist At Seven Years Old ✨ which we love for me. (I know it's not a metal song, but the lyrics would work in a female-led metal song.) I hope you all enjoy it. 

If you had gotten your own way, you would be playing the Hideout completely solo. It's not that you didn't love the boys, in fact, you loved being part of Corroded Coffin, but deep down, you were always desperate to go it alone and show just how far your talent could stretch. But the owner of the bar had made it pretty clear that no one would come and see some alt-chic whining on stage for an hour. No, if you wanted to perform in Hawkins, you would have to stick with the band. 

But at this point, about six months into playing the Hideout, you'd yet to be approached by any bigger venues, and it was getting frustrating. You wanted to break out of this shitty little town, but it felt like you were stagnating; playing the same show to the same podunk bikers every single fucking week. 

You let out a disgruntled sigh as you shouldered your guitar, shaking your hair out from under the strap, and you felt Eddie watching you immediately. 

He'd always been pretty good at recognising when you were getting worked up and he tried his hardest to calm your rising temper whenever he got the chance, but today, you just seemed so on edge that he wasn't sure he wanted to pry. 

When his eyes lingered for a second too long, your head shot up, raising an eyebrow in his direction. "What?" you bit out, watching as he immediately held up his hands in surrender.

"Nothing."

"What were you looking at?"

"Nothing-"

"Eddie," you bit again. "Just say it."

He hesitated for a moment, jaw tightening slightly. "You seem-" he paused shrugging. "A little frustrated."

You let out a soft scoff, shaking your head. "Good eye," you uttered, returning your attention to your guitar, looking somehow even more worked up than you had been before.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not particularly," you grumbled, still not looking up at him. "Just want to get through this stupid fucking set and go home." 

"You don't like the set?"

Your shoulders went rigid. "Quit pushing."

"I'm not-" he paused, letting out a soft sigh. "Just don't like seeing you upset," he finally hummed. "And if it's something I can help change-"

"Well, it's not," you interrupted, fixing him with a warning look. "You can't change the fact that I'm never going to make it without you guys. You can't make them see me as a rockstar instead of some whiney bitch. I'm just a girl-"

"You aren't just a girl-"

"No, I am," you interrupted again. "I know it better than anyone else. Shit, my dad wouldn't let me come here if you didn't drive me. He won't let me go anywhere on my own at night, let alone a place like this. It's so fucking stupid." 

Eddie couldn't pretend he knew how you felt. Sure, people treated him differently because of how he dressed and the music he listened to, but on top of all of that, you had the added pressure of being a woman. The added stress of no one really taking you seriously outside of the band. Shit, he'd heard guys practically give you pop quizzes when you'd mentioned liking metal music before. You had to prove your worth at every turn, and he could completely understand why that would get frustrating after a while. 

"That'd make a pretty badass song, you know," he finally murmured, watching your brow furrow. "I'm just a girl, yeah, I'd rather not be, because they won't let me drive late at night," he hummed, shrugging slightly. "If you ever get bored of just doing shitty covers, we could work that into something. Put you front and centre for it. It'd be metal as fuck." 

Finally, a small smile pulled at your lips. "I don't write songs-"

"I can help if you wanted me to," he quickly pushed. "Come on, where's the harm in trying it out? Could end up being a total hit." 

"Yeah?"

"Totally."

*Time Skip*

It really hadn't taken long for you and Eddie to turn your words into song lyrics. Years of frustration bubbling to the surface and turning into pure poetic art, as he'd called it. And then all you'd had to do was find a beat and show it off to the rest of the band.

Turns out, you made a pretty good songwriting team and the boys could all see it, too. Which was how you ended up with Just A Girl as the band's opening song when you went next showed up at the Hideout. 

You were just getting ready to go on stage when Eddie had shown up at your elbow, grabbing your hand in his and giving it a tight squeeze. "You've got this, alright?"

You squeezed back, a smile pulling at your lips. "I've got it," you repeated back to him, releasing his hand and quickly turning to face him. You hesitated for a moment with him smiling down at you. You had never been in any doubt that you liked Eddie. He was funny and sweet and hot as all hell, but in the last couple of weeks, he had really burrowed his way into your heart. So, when he wrinkled his nose up at you when he gave you a supportive smile, you couldn't help but push up on your tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. "Good luck," you murmured as you pulled back, quickly hurrying away from him and onto the stage.

It had taken Eddie a couple of seconds longer to compose himself before he followed you onto the stage, joining up with the rest of the band. And then, you were performing like your life depended on it. 

"Take this pink ribbon off my eyes; I'm exposed and it's no big surprise," you started as the music kicked in, swaying slightly as you leant in towards the mic. "Don't you think I know exactly where I stand? This world is forcing me to hold your hand," you pressed on, grinning as the music picked up, letting you launch into the first chorus. "'Cause I'm just a girl. Oh, little old me. Well, Don't let me out of your sight. Oh, I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite; So, don't let me have any rights."

You could feel the excitement rising through your body as the lyrics poured out of you and into the mic. It was electric and as you glanced back at Eddie you felt your stomach doing somersaults. He had been right. You're frustrated outburst had been metal as fuck and by the looks of it, the few members of the crowd and the handful of bar staff thought so too. 

"Oh, am I making myself clear?" You swung your guitar back over your shoulder, taking hold of the mic in both hands as you leaned in close. "I'm just a girl," you sang, your voice going a little softer. "I'm just a girl in the world." A cocky little smile pulled at your lips, listening as the boys continued playing. "That's all that you'll let me be," you finally screamed, tearing the mic out of its stand and jumping around the stage. "Oh, I'm just a girl living in captivity; your rule of thumb makes me worry some. Oh, I'm just a girl, what's my destiny? What I've succumbed to is making me numb." You were leaping around like you'd seen countless rockstars do before, letting the music move you as you sang. "Oh, I'm just a girl, my apologies; what I've become is so burdensome. Oh, I'm just a girl, lucky me; Twiddle-Dum, there's no comparison. Oh, I've had it up to here."

You were panting as the music came to a close, your hand pushing your hair back out of your face as you shoved the mic back onto its stand. 

Before you could realise what was happening, Eddie had grabbed you by the waist, turning you around to face him and pressing his lips to yours in a scalding kiss. "So fucking metal," he breathed into your mouth, drawing a soft chuckle out of you. "And so fucking hot," he added, giving you another quick kiss before releasing you to readjust your guitar into place, ready for the next song. 

"I'm mad about some other shit too if you want to keep making music," you teased softly, just loud enough for him to hear over the first few chords of the next song. 

"Sounds like a plan, rockstar."

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